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Early County, Georgia
Early County is a county located in the southwest of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,008. The county seat is Blakely, home of the Early County Courthouse. Created by European Americans on December 15, 1818, it was named for Peter Early.http://earlycounty.georgia.gov/ The county is bordered on the west by the Chattahoochee River. History Prehistoric and nineteenth-century history has been preserved in some of Early County's attractions. It is the site of the Kolomoki Mounds, a park preserving major earthworks built by indigenous peoples of the Woodland culture more than 1700 years ago, from 350 CE to 600 CE. This is one of the largest mound complexes in the United States and the largest in Georgia; it includes burial and ceremonial mounds. The siting of the mounds expresses the ancient people's cosmology, as mounds are aligned with the sun at the spring equinox and summer solstice. The county area was territory of the historic Creek Indian peoples of the Southeast, particularly along the Chattahoochee River, before European-American settlers encroached and pushed them out during Indian Removal of the first half of the nineteenth century. The Cohelee Creek Bridge in the county is the southernmost covered bridge still standing. One of the last wooden flagpoles from the American Civil War era is located at the historic courthouse in downtown Blakely. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. Major highways * U.S. Route 27 * U.S. Route 27 Business * U.S. Route 84 * State Route 1 * State Route 1 Business * State Route 38 * State Route 39 * State Route 45 * State Route 62 * State Route 62 Bypass * State Route 200 * State Route 216 * State Route 273 * State Route 273 Spur * State Route 370 Adjacent counties *Clay County (north) *Calhoun County (northeast) *Baker County (east) *Miller County (southeast) *Seminole County (south) *Houston County, Alabama (southwest/CST Border) *Henry County, Alabama (west/CST Border) Demographics 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 }} As of the census of 2000, there were 12,354 people, 995 households, and 1,195 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 938 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.28% White, 12.14% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 1.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,695 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.00% were married couples living together, 20.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.13. In the county the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 17.80% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 5.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 67.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 60.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,629, and the median income for a family was $31,215. Males had a median income of $36,458 versus $27,277 for females. The mean income for the county was $147,364. The per capita income for the county was $34,936. About 22.20% of families and 25.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.20% of those under age 18 and 20.10% of those age 65 or over. Education Communities *Arlington (shared with Calhoun County) *Blakely *Damascus *Jakin Unincorporated communities *Bancroft *Cedar Springs *Cederville *Colomokee *Crossroads *Cuba *Douglass Crossroads *Douglasville *Ferrell Crossroads *Freeman *Hentown *Hilton *Howards Mill *Jones Crossroads *Killarney *Liberty *Lucile *Luke *McLendon *New Hope *Nicholasville *Pleasant Hill *Rock Hill *Rowena *Saffold *Sowhatchee *Springfield *Urquhart See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Early County, Georgia References External links * Early County 2055 - a non-profit corporation established by native son Charles Barton Rice and Catherine B. Rice to support the revitalization, economic development and preservation of Blakely and Early County, Georgia. * Blakely - Early County Chamber of Commerce - Chamber of Commerce for Blakely and surrounding communities of Jakin, Arlington and Damascus. *Southwest Georgia Academy(SGA)-a private school is located in Damascus and its adjoining Counties by Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) *[http://www.earlycountynews.com Early County News], a local newspaper founded by the Fleming Family in 1859 Further reading *Jerald T. Milanich, The Archaeology of Precolumbian Florida (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1994). *Jerald T. Milanich, et al., McKeithen Weeden Island: The Culture of Northern Florida, A.D. 200-900 (New York: Academic Press, 1984). *Thomas J. Pluckhahn, Kolomoki: Settlement, Ceremony, and Status in the Deep South, A.D. 350 to 750 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2003). *William H. Sears, Excavations at Kolomoki: Final Report (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1956). *Christopher Trowell, "A Kolomoki Chronicle: The History of a Plantation, a State Park, and the Archaeological Search for Kolomoki's Prehistory," Early Georgia 26, no. 1 (1998). *Mark Williams and Daniel T. Elliott, eds., A World Engraved: Archaeology of the Swift Creek Culture (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998). Category:Early County, Georgia Category:1818 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Settlements established in 1818 Category:Counties of Georgia (U.S. state)